Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ayer, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ayer and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ayer
- Astronomy & Satellites ...
- Whether using binoculars, a small telescope or the naked-eye, the Heavens-Above website can help you to find your way around the night-time sky. In addition to detailed sky charts, their website will help you find planets, asteriods, comets, satellites and their tracks across the sky.
- To give accurate results, Heavens-Above requires the latitude and longitude of your location. As a starting point, when we link to Heavens-Above, we pass this GPS location for Ayer:
- 46.596254, -118.348307
- Once you're on the Heavens-Above website, you can improve its accuracy by giving a more precise longitude and latitude as your actual position.
- The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Ayer
- Bird Watching ...
- We enjoy finding new spots for bird watching and we use the eBird website for local sighting reports and to help identify hotspots.
- The eBird website is organized on a county-by-county basis. We have selected Walla Walla County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Walla Walla County
- Since Ayer is near Franklin County and also Columbia County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Franklin County
- eBird sighting report for Columbia County
- Waymarking ...
- Looking for somewhere out of the ordinary? Find a unique place and want to share it with others? Then it's time to visit Waymarking.com:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Ayer ...
We found three communities that share the name Ayer.
Within Washington, the name Ayer is unique.
Beyond Washington, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Colorado
- Massachusetts
- New York
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ayer ...
As we travel, we always see a community with a name that gives pause. While there are names which are interesting or familiar, some catch our attention or strike our fancy. We always wonder about such a name. If time permits and the community is not too far, we'll usually try to make a side-trip.
- Burr
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest) - Chew
(Less than 2 miles to the east) - Clyde
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
- Clyde is located in Walla Walla County
- Harder
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest) - Harvey
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south) - Powers
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast) - Relief
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast) - Starbuck
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starbuck
- Starbuck is located in Columbia County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 130 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Starbuck <4>
How Far From Ayer to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Ayer to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Ayer and extending to:
- Walla Walla, which is the Seat of Walla Walla County, lies 36 miles [57.9 km]<1> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from Ayer to Walla Walla, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take over two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just about two full days.
- Olympia, which is the State Capital of Washington, lies 217 miles [349.2 km] to the west (W). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,134 miles [3,434.3 km] to the east (E). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 84 days and walking would take 122 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,772 miles [10,898.5 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,538 miles [12,131.2 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,614 miles [9,034.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ayer. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Walla Walla County: www.co.walla-walla.wa.us/
The official website for State of Washington: https://access.wa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Ayer) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ayer. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.5963, Longitude: -118.3483 In this case, the coordinates for Ayer have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Ayer could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <3> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | While we have tried to pick reasonable speeds, the rate of travel is very theoretical - obstacles like fences, hills, lakes, river crossings and rest stops have been ignored. When we say 'Days' of travel, we're assuming 8 hours of travel per day. |
| <6> | The shortest line can be visualized by stretching a string on a Globe from Point A to Point B - this is known as a Great Circle Route. Where you might expect the shortest route from Ayer to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 337.543 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 338.505 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 325.254 degrees. |